Cincinnati casino will open March 4

Wednesday

Feb 13, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 13, 2013 at 7:49 PM

Ohio's fourth full-fledged casino, the Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati, was approved this morning despite concerns that the parent company, Caesar's, could be facing bankruptcy. The Ohio Casino Control Commission approved the March 4 opening for the $400 million casino located at 1000 Broadway St., on the edge of downtown Cincinnati.

Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio’s fourth full-fledged casino, the Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati, was approved this morning despite concerns that the parent company, Caesar’s, could be facing bankruptcy.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission approved the March 4 opening for the $400 million casino located at 1000 Broadway St., on the edge of downtown Cincinnati.

Mindful of Caesar’s huge $22 billion debt, the commission added numerous stipulations, requiring the company to undergo an annual financial review and to notify the state in case it plans to file bankruptcy or make other major financial moves.

A spokesman for Spectrum Gaming, the commission’s consultant, said there are “serious concerns” about Caesar’s precarious financial position, but that he saw no reason to deny Horseshoe Cincinnati’s operating license. The commission subsequently approved.

A Caesar’s official said the company does not expect to file bankruptcy and can weather the debt storm.

The casino boasts on its website of having a high-stakes gambling room where blackjack games go for $50,000 a hand, 2,000 slot and video poker machines, 87 table games, and a restaurant operated by TV personality Bobby Flay.

Casinos opened last year in Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland, which is also a Caesar’s property.

In other news, the commission said 252 people from five states have asked to be barred from gambling at casinos for periods from one year up to life. Of the 201 from Ohio on the “voluntary exclusion,” 66 are from Franklin County.